Forbidden Fruit
by seaweedfma
Summary: The thrill of a first kiss is only made more exhilarating when it is forbidden. Roy Mustang x Maes Hughes. Rated T for vague sexual references. Set soon after Roy and Maes return from Ishbal. Set in the mangaverse.


This was done for the 30_Romances community on Live Journal. It was Theme 9: Rush; Thrill; Exhilaration

Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist  
Title: Forbidden Fruit  
Author: Seaweed Otter  
Theme(s): #9- Rush ; Thrill ; Exhilaration  
Pairing: Roy Mustang/Maes Hughes  
Rating: PG-13  
Disclaimer: Set soon after the pair returned from Ishbal. I don't own anything here.  
Summary: The thrill of a first kiss is only made more exhilarating when it is forbidden.

The room had a thick haze permeating the air. It caused Maes to choke from time to time, when he was foolish enough to suck in too hard of a breath. His companion was having a much easier time of it, his lungs being used to the thick, acrid stench of smoke and ash.

"Come on, Roy. Let's head out. This place gives me a headache." Maes rubbed his temples to accentuate his point. The throbbing behind his eyes was starting to make them water a little.

"Alright, alright. I am almost done with this beer anyways." Roy downed the last of his beer and dropped a small tip on the counter to the pretty waitress behind the bar. She blushed a little as he winked at her and stood up, somewhat shakily, and started to head towards the door. Maes shook his head, finished his beer as well, and with an almost hurt look on his face, left a much smaller tip, walking a few steps behind his friend.

As the warm summer air of the evening hit them, Maes shivered. His mind flashed back to less than a month before, and the hot, oppressively dry air that robbed a body of all of its precious fluids in the Ishbal desert. He could smell the smoke again, the ash, the stench of human death. He shivered again and shoved his hands in his pockets to cover how badly they were shaking.

He and Roy had become close, in those hot desert nights, where you were lucky if half your company came back alive and unscathed to sleep in the quickly emptying tents. Somehow, they had made it. The physical scars were there, but the mental scars were far, far, worse. They had wanted nothing more than to be able to hold each other tight, to make each other feel like it would be okay, but they knew that it would be just a lie.

So they had waited. They knew that they cared for each other, but in times of war, the mind and the body do strange things. It had been awkward at first, after they came back to the relative safety of Central City, and their jobs at Central Command.

For a couple of weeks, neither of them talked about it. They were both afraid that it was desperation that had driven them together, the happiness of knowing another warm body close to your own, with all of the cold, unfeeling death that they had experienced.

It was a breath of fresh air when they had finally found a time and a place that they could talk more intimately. The conversation wavered around various random subjects, ugly and awkward, before Maes had finally had enough and asked Roy point blank if he still had feelings for him. After a blank stare, Roy had nodded his head, and Maes had felt like he was about 100 pounds lighter. They had decided to take it slow, and find some time to spend together in the somewhat normal setting of a big city, to see how things progressed.

And that was what brought them to that smoky bar. Their 'first date', as it was, although they had to keep the respectful distance of friendship in such public places. Maes ached to feel Roy give him a hug, or even a kiss that he was so longed for on those hot Ishbalan nights. Part of him wondered if it would ever happen, but he was a patient man. He had waited this long, and he didn't want to lose Roy forever.

Maes quickened his step. His longer legs caught up with Roy in a few moments. He walked closer than a friend normally would, falling naturally into an identical militarily rhythmic cadence of footsteps. It took a moment for Roy to notice, and when he did, he cleared his throat and took half a step to the side before falling back into the rhythm of the step. Maes dropped his head and stayed quiet, hoping his sigh of disappointment wasn't heard.

Roy, unfortunately, had heard it, and it stung. He knew what the man wanted, and he wanted to be able to give it to him, but he wasn't sure where they would be able to find a few moments alone. Then it dawned on him. He had an idea. His face suddenly brightened, and he tugged somewhat playfully on Maes' sleeve.

"Hey, I have an idea! Come with me!" Roy said happily. Maes looked up, confused for a second before he was pulled to the right. He stumbled to keep his balance with the rapidly walking man still holding onto him.

"Okay, okay. I am coming" Maes tugged his sleeve away so he wouldn't fall headfirst to the pavement, and followed a step behind Roy, his face a mess of emotions.

It didn't take long for Roy to reach his destination. Even though it was summer, the Central Library was still open, as there were students still taking classes that needed access to research. Maes caught on fast. It was a well known fact that the library had many private (and even lockable) study rooms, and it was also a well known fact that more than just studying went on there. Maes smiled broadly, giving Roy a little punch in the shoulder.

"You sly damn dog you!" He said, continuing to stay a couple of steps behind. Even though it was easy to tell that they were well beyond their academy years, Roy, as a State Alchemist, had no trouble convincing the young lady behind the desk that he and his friend needed a room to study some important documents.

Maes felt his stomach just a bit as Roy flirted lightly with the librarian to make sure they got a nice, well secluded office, as this was important business. It took the man a while to figure out why he suddenly felt nauseous. It wasn't the smoke that had affected him from before, it was... jealousy. He was actually jealous of Roy flirting with that girl. Taking a mental note to file that information away for later, he followed Roy up to almost totally deserted second story of the library.

This room had a haze as thick as the bar, but it was dust that hung on books older their grandparents' grandparents. The whole room smelt of old and paper and ink and binding glue. It wasn't a scent that either of them particularly loved or hated, but at least, Maes thought, it was better than cigarette smoke.

Roy took the key he had gotten from the librarian and opened the door. It creaked in protest but swung open fully, revealing a 6 foot by 6 foot room with one decently sized wooden table and 4 matching wooden chairs. The furniture looked like it had been there since the library opened, every surface of the table had notes and love letters written into it, and the chairs were wobbly at best. He gently pushed Maes in and closed the door, locking it behind him.

Roy sat down first, patting the chair closest to him. Maes stood for a moment. His brow started to bead with moisture, his breath became shallow. Now that he was in here, what was going to happen? He thought this was what he wanted, but now he was here, and he wasn't so sure.

"Sit down, please Maes. I don't bite, I swear." Maes smiled a bit, thinking to himself 'unless I want you to, right?' but he bit his lip and kept his comment to himself. Shakily, he sat down, putting his hands on the table, palms down. Gently, slowly, Roy moved his hand to the table, next to Maes'. He used one finger to gently caress the soft creases between Maes' pinky and ring fingers. Maes jumped a little at first, startled, but he didn't pull his hand away. The warm touch of his friend's finger sent a shiver down his spine. Roy studied his face for a moment, to see if he could read what his suddenly silent friend was thinking.

"Maes? Is.. this alright?" he asked, pausing for a moment. Still unable to find his voice, he just nodded. "Maes. Promise me, if something is wrong, you will tell me?" He nodded again. Roy wasn't sure what to do. His friend looked like a deer in the headlights, but he wasn't pulling away or running for the door, or leaning back to punch him. He took his whole hand, and placed it softly on top of Maes', interlocking the fingers. "Just.. relax. Please. You are scaring me. I don't really know what I am doing, either."

"It.. is okay, Roy. I like it. I just.. am trying to wrap my head about this, that is all." Maes smiled softly, and patted the top of Roy's hand with his other palm. He leaned in towards Roy, not sure why at first. He could smell his own sweat and aftershave, but as he leaned closer the smells changed. He smelt a musk, not his own, and the aftershave new knew Roy wore. He had never been close enough to Roy before to take in his scents. It made Maes shiver again.

"Oh.. wow.. you .. smell great.. Roy." Maes leaned back to his seat. All this was making him feel lightheaded, the rush of pheromones, the touch of his hand, his voice soft and echoing in the small room. He rubbed his head to his temple again. It was all so much.

"Are you okay?" Roy leaned close, taking his hand from on top of Maes' and putting the back of it to his forehead. "You feel a little warm." He had a worried tone to his voice.

"I am okay. This is just.. a lot, that is all." Maes smiled somewhat weakly. Roy smiled back. Instead of pulling the back of his hand away from Maes' forehead, he gently ran it down the side of his cheek, over the light stubble that tickled his hand and down to his chin, which he cupped lightly in his palm. He agonizingly slowly moved his head closer to Maes.

"If.. you don't want me to.. I wont.." He said in almost slow motion, his lips mere inches away.

Maes shook his head. "No.." he murmured, and saved Roy the last bit of embarrassment by pressing forwards just far enough to let their lips meet, softly. Warm flesh pressed to warm flesh for a few moments of pure bliss. Hearts skipped a beat, then two. Neither of them wanted to break, but their lung cried out for air and their brains were too lost in the moment to tell them that breathing through their noses was a possibility.

Roy blinked owlishly a couple of times when they pulled apart, and Maes shoved his glasses up the bridge of his nose to fix the odd angle that they had been pushed against Roy's face.

"Wow, Roy." was all that Maes could muster, even after several minutes of trying to get his body to slow down to its normal heartbeat.

Roy chuckled a little and leaned back into his chair, locking his hands behind his head. "Ya know," he said, rather nonchalantly, "there can be more of that, if you want." He paused for a second, then looked more serious. "If... you want, that is. Don't worry about answering that tonight. We can find plenty of excuses to come here and study, to talk about it now that we are stationed here."

Maes nodded and smiled, licking his lips. They still tasted like Roy. "Mmmm.. Okay." he said, the pounding in his head totally forgotten, but not the pounding of his heart.


End file.
